


As Fate Would Have It

by Ollithia



Series: As Fate Would Have It [1]
Category: Dragon Age: Origins
Genre: Dragon Age Spoilers, Eventual Romance, F/M, Flirting, Grey Wardens, Past Abuse, Past Sexual Abuse, Romance, Romantic Fluff
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-06-17
Updated: 2019-07-04
Packaged: 2020-05-13 07:34:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 6
Words: 9,545
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19246693
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ollithia/pseuds/Ollithia
Summary: Zevran Araini had certain expectations when taking the job to go after the last Grey Wardens in Ferelden, the main one being that he wasn't going to survive the encounter. Little did he know that Eveli Tabris was going to be everything he least expected.





	1. The Failed Assassination

**Author's Note:**

> So this is the first bit of writing I have done in close to 15 years. I played through Origins and wished there was a bit more to the romantic plot lines so I picked my favourite and just ran with it to see where it would take me.

Zevran was looking at his captor through hooded lids as he feigned sleep. She was a strange one. From the deep red of her hair that looked alive in the light of the campfire to the emerald green of her eyes that shone like jewels when she laughed. It seemed like she had not a care in the world when she was around her companions, but now when she was alone by the fire. She looked like the weight of the world was on her shoulders from the way her shoulders slumped forward and the dullness that crept into her eyes. He held back a smirk when she looked his way and felt her eyes gaze over him.  
Why did she spare my life…. He wondered to himself as he went over the events of the day. He had done his research and knew that in her slight form, she wielded enough strength to take down darkspawn. The last thing he expected was for her to show her would be assassin compassion.  
The slight whimper of the Mabari she had called Draco pulled him out of his thoughts. He looked over at his captor and froze. She was clinging to the hound like her life depended on it, her chest was rising and falling as if she had just sprinted the length of the Imperial Highway, she had lost all colour in her face and her eyes were distant like she was far away from camp. He watched silently as the dog tried to nuzzle his way under her arms and when that didn’t work he resorted to licking every part of her that he could reach. Eventually the light came back to her eyes as she clutched Draco to her tightly.  
“I’m okay boy, no need to worry” she muttered into her fur, sounding like she was trying to reassure herself more than anyone else.

Eveli lifted her eyes and scanned the campsite, thankful that her little episode didn’t wake anyone up this time.  
“Good boy, thanks for helping me again” she whispered to Draco as she planted a kiss on the top of his head. He nuzzled her happily, knowing that he protected his mistress from whatever demons were attacking her.  
She sighed as she looked over to where the assassin who tried to kill her was tied up to a nearby tree trunk. She was surprised to meet his deep brown eyes.  
“A beautiful woman such as yourself shouldn’t look so sad” the assassin smoothly said to her.  
“Is it common for you to stare at people?” She replied, a bit more harshly than she intended  
“Oh no, only the gorgeous wardens that seem to have a kink for tying me up. A little rope can be exciting, no?”  
Eveli resisted the urge to throw a piece of firewood in his direction as he winked at her, but she was thankful for the distraction as the memory of hands pulling and tearing at her once again faded.  
“Do you need any water or food? Sorry I can’t untie you, just can’t trust the guy who tried to kill me less than 12 hours ago.” she asked as she stood up and dusted herself off.  
The question surprised Zevran, he may of been captured a few times during his life with the Crows but this was the first time a captor had asked if he needed anything.  
“I thank you dear warden, but the only thing I want is to know your name” Zevran responded with his most charming smile. Eveli looked at the dying flames in thought before responding.  
“Eveli, Eveli Tabris.” She responded as she threw some more wood onto the fire, making sure it would last through the night. She could feel a cold bite to the air forming so went to her tent and grabbed her spare blanket.

Zevran couldn’t help but watch her as she walked round getting the camp ready for the night. She was a mystery to him, normally he could spend a few minutes in someone's presence and know exactly what they were going to be like. When it came to her…. Well he had no idea where to even start,  
“Here, I thought you might get cold tonight so here’s another blanket”  
He looked up at her in surprise, she was standing right in front of him and he didn’t even hear her approach.  
“That’s very thoughtful of you miss Eveli, but with having my arms tied, how am I going to be able to wrap it round myself?” He could see her mentally kicking herself for not thinking of that.  
“Right, well if you don’t mind me getting close to you I can wrap it round you” she offered hesitantly.  
“Dear warden, I grew up in a whore house. I have no problem with a beautiful woman wrapping her arms around me.” He smirked in response to the glare she gave him and was surprised when she still bent down and carefully wrapped him in a thick woolen blanket. He took the opportunity to breathe in her scent of lavender and fresh rain. From the fact that the blanket smelled the exact same, he could tell that it was hers and that fact did something small to his heart that he didn’t want to investigate too closely.  
“Draco will be keeping an eye on you so if you need anything just whistle and he’ll come get me.” she smiled warmly at him as she leaned back onto her heels. His heart skipped a beat at her smile. It was genuinely warm. He had tried to kill her for money and yet she treated him as if he were a person.  
“What’s going on here?” from the deeper voice he knew it was the other warden.  
Alistair stood protectively beside Eveli with his hands on his hips. Before he even had a chance to make a smart remark back at him, Eveli stood and spun round to face him.  
“I put a blanket round him because it’s coming into winter and I’m not going to have anyone die of pneumonia on my watch.” Her eyes blazed at the accusation in his voice. Zevran couldn’t help but show the shock on his face, he wasn’t expecting her to come to his defense. Being an elf she was naturally quite a bit shorter than Alistair but at that moment the air around her made it seem like she was a good foot taller.  
“Ah…. right…. Good thinking Evie.” Alistair muttered as his bravado left him and he nervously ruffled his hair.  
“Right, well good to see you are on time for your watch. If there’s nothing else, I’m going to bed.” And with that both men watched her storm off and close her tent behind her with Draco curling up protectively in front.


	2. One Of Many Attacks

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The aftermath of a darkspawn attack and Eveli makes an impulsive choice on who to train with.

Blasted darkspawn bastard nicked me Eveli thought to herself as she grimaced and pressed down hard on her outer thigh. She looked round the crossroads where the darkspawn decided to ambush her and her group and was glad to see that she was the only one who looked to of been hurt. Alistair was helping Sten pile the corpses into a hole to burn them, Morrigan and Wynne were arguing for the fifth time today and Zevran and Leliana were checking for any usable supplies or coin. It had been two months since Zevran had tried to kill her and when he failed, he pledged to assist her. He had been true to his word. He took on every enemy that came their way and pulled his weight around camp. Alistair still didn’t trust him at all but she couldn’t help catching herself watching him, he moved so gracefully and seemed so carefree but she could tell there was something hidden beneath the surface. She wanted to be the one to dig deeper but what would someone him want with someone like her who had been used and then thrown away like trash. If Duncan hadn’t found her when he did, she shuddered to think what would of happened to her. She sank to her knees, uncaring that a hurlock was right next to her and staring at her with unblinking eyes. She just needed to rest a moment.  
“Evie!” She looked up at the sound of her name being called out and saw Alistair rushing over to her. “Are you okay?” He asked as he crouched down in front of her, the worry obvious in his voice.  
“I’m okay, just a scratch.” She smiled weakly up a him “I’ll be fine.”  
“Wynne! Evie needs you” Alistair called out as he reached to touch her thigh around where the wound was. He stopped when she flinched away from him and looked up at him in horror.  
“Don’t touch me, please” her voice was barely a whisper but Alistair nodded in understanding. With the fight and her taking the double watch shift the night before, it meant that her demons were closer to the surface.  
“Now what have you managed to do to yourself this time.” The smell of elfroot had reached Eveli before Wynne even needed to make her presence known. She always hated the smell of it and the taste was even worse but if Wynne said it helps then she’ll take the damned stuff.  
“I didn’t do this to myself. That hurlock grunt there managed to get me before I threw my knife into it’s head.” She pointed at the darkspawn Sten was currently dragging away. At the mention of her knife he ripped it out of the skull, wiped it on the closest patch of clean grass he could find and tossed it gently in front of her. “Thanks big man!” Sten just grunted in response and continued dragging the body to the quickly filling pit.

Zevran found it harder to focus on the task at hand when he realised Eveli was hurt. The pang of unknown jealousy he felt as Alistair rushed over to care for her didn’t help. He noticed how she flinched at his touch and that jealousy mixed with anger. Had the bastard hurt her?   
“She will be alright” Leliana said softly to him, “There is no need to worry.” Zevran mentally kicked himself for being caught staring.  
“My apologies for not paying you enough attention, we can take a quick break together now if you’d like…?” He turned on his most charming smile and forced all other feelings back down to either be ignored once again or examined more closely when they made more sense.  
“Alistair has never hurt her.” She looked over at where Eveli was and smiled slightly, from the look on Eveli’s face Wynne had just made her take a large dose of Elfroot.  
“Then explain her reaction to his touch” He knew he had no right to get defensive but he told himself it was just due to the fact he hated seeing women and children hurt and growing up where he did, he had seen that reaction too many times to be able to ignore it.  
“It happened before any of us met her” Leliana sighed “All she’s ever said is that Duncan saved her life, any more than that I don’t know” and with that Leliana went back to rummaging through the corpses.

Eveli was sitting by the fire once again for her watch, it had taken some convincing Alistair that she was perfectly fine to do her watch shift. Wynne had healed her so only a slightly red shiny scar remained to add to her growing collection. Since she was still awake it meant that Draco was once again faithfully on watch with her. She absentmindedly stroked his ears while thinking over the fight today. Her mother had trained her well for defending herself and getting out of tricky situations but there's only so far those skills will work when fighting darkspawn. Should she take up Alistair's offer to train her with long swords? Most of the weapons Alistair owned were only a head shorter than she was, she’d feel a bit ridiculous walking around with one of those attached to her hip. There is always Zevran, he may be willing to work on what her mother taught her and her twin daggers were weighted so perfectly that they felt like an extension of her. With being so lost in thought she didn't even hear Alistair come up beside her.  
“Earth to Evie, come in Evie. Can you hear me?” Alistair cracked a smile at his own little joke as he sat down on the ground beside her.  
“Sorry, was lost in thought.”  
“I could see that, is everything okay?”  
Eveli stared into the dancing flames, unsure on how to answer that. Inside, nothing was okay. She was screaming and drowning in everything that had happened the past few months. Alistair was looking at her expectantly, waiting for an answer.  
“I was…. Just thinking about Duncan”  
Alistair's smile faltered a little, he wasn't expecting her to say that.  
“I know he saved you but I don't know how he did or what he saved you from.”  
“You haven't told me how you met him yet either.” It wasn't a very subtle deflection of his questioning statement but from the thoughtful expression on his face, Eveli knew it had worked.  
“Let's see, I was in the Chantry before. I trained for many years to become a templar, in fact. That's where I learned most of my skills. The grand cleric didn't want to let me go. Duncan was forced to conscript me, actually, and was she ever furious when he did. I thought she was going to have us both arrested. I was lucky. I'll always be grateful to Duncan for recruiting me. If it hadn't been for him, you know, I would never... I wouldn't have…”   
Eveli grabbed his hand and gave it what she thought was a comforting squeeze. She had noticed that Alistair blabbled a bit when he was nervous and remembering Duncan was tough for him. He laced his fingers with hers and gently squeezed her hand back.  
“I'm sorry, I shouldn't of brought him up.” She said sincerely. “But I'm always here if you ever want to talk about him. I didn't know him as long as you did but I care about you and want you to know that.” She smiled warmly at him.   
“I'd... like to have a proper funeral for him. Maybe once this is all done, if we're still alive. I don't think he had any family to speak of.”  
“He had you.” Eveli reminded him gently. Alistair looked sadly at the dancing flames, clearly lost in his memories. They sat in a comfortable silence for a while, shoulder to shoulder with their hands still together. Eveli didn't know how long they sat like that but they had watched the rest of the camp go off to their tents to retire for the night. Zevran had gone to the nearby river and still hadn't returned. She was about to get up and check on him but Alistair's voice broke the silence.  
“Have you... had someone close to you die? Not that I mean to pry, I'm just…”  
Eveli sighed and thought of a way to answer the question honestly but not give too much away as she was nowhere near ready to talk about that time in much detail.  
“My fiance was killed on my wedding day.” that sounded a lot colder than she intended it to be but Alistair understood.   
“I'm sorry.” He smiled sadly at her “I'm always here for you too if you ever need it.”  
Alistair was staring into her eyes and before she knew it he was leaning in closer. Her mouth went dry and her heart plummeted. She quickly jumped to her feet and brushed the dirt off her leathers.  
“Right, well thanks Alistair. I'm gonna go bathe and then call it a night.”  
Alistair waved her off, oblivious to what he was leaning in to do as even he didn't realise yet.  
As soon as she was in the trees, she ran. Wishing she could run from the Blight, run from the responsibility of being a Grey Warden and run from her memories making her relive every single moment of the week following the day she was supposed to be wed. The tears flowing freely down her cheeks made it hard for her to see where she was going, which is why she didn't notice a figure in front of her in time and slammed straight into it.

Zevran only saw a flash of red hair before he was flat on his back with a crying Eveli on him.   
“A beautiful woman shouldn't have need for all these tears.” he said soothingly once he got air back into his lungs.  
Eveli opened her mouth to respond but only a sob escaped. She was torn between being frozen in fear due to the closeness of another person and the fact that she yearned to be held and comforted. After a few moments, her desire to be comforted won. She gripped the front of his leather tunic and buried her face in Zevran's chest. He wrapped his arms around her shaking frame and held her close. He had no idea what was wrong or why she was crying so he just kept her close and whispered sweet nothings to her. Promising to protect her, fight for her and be there for her. Soon enough Eveli calmed down and pushed herself off Zevran and stood up. He couldn't help missing the feel of her and wished she stayed in his arms for a little bit longer but that was not to be. At least not tonight as he wasn't going to take advantage of her in this fragile state.  
“Sorry for mowing you over like that” she said as she helped him to his feet.  
“That wasn't my first choice for getting you in my arms, but I was happy to be of service.” He flashed her a charming smile and even in the moonlight he noticed her cheeks turn red. “Are you going to tell me what caused you to become this upset?”  
Eveli sighed and looked up and the stars shining through the trees.   
“Very well dear Warden. I will not pry for anything you don't want to give willingly.” He bowed slightly towards her and turned to head back to camp.  
“Wait!”  
Zevran stopped and turned back to her.  
“Please can you train me?”   
Zevran wasn't sure what he was expecting her to say but that wasn't on the list. He was certain that Alistair wanted to train her on how to be a warrior.  
“If that is what you desire, then it would be my pleasure.” His heart jumped slightly at the smile she gave him in response and together they walked back to camp.


	3. Bringing Up The Past

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning! This chapter goes into more detail about the sexual abuse Eveli went through. It doesn't go into graphic detail but may bring up painful memories for some

It had finally happened. Zevran had finally gotten his chance to spend some decent alone time with Eveli. Granted they were on a scouting mission to see what was happening with Redcliffe but the point was, no one else from their merry band were with them. He didn't count Draco in that as the hound was basically an extension of Eveli since she had saved him from Ostagar. It had been a few months since she had asked him to train her and he had been true to his word. He sneaked a look at his favourite grey warden out the corner of his eye. Ever since they had started training together he had noticed her confidence grow. She was walking taller and was more sure of herself in all she did.  
“Zev, do I have something on my face?” Eveli smiled at him when she noticed him staring.  
“Oh no my dear warden. I was just noticing how radiant you look today” he smiled warmly back at her and noticed her cheeks turning slightly pink from his compliment. It was the first time she had shown a reaction like that as normally she would just roll her eyes and tell him to keep walking. He had noticed her twirling and fiddling with a rose while they were travelling. Alistair had requested to speak with her in private before they left so perhaps he had given that to her? It was clear to see how Alistair felt about the elven grey warden, what was less clear was if the feelings were mutual.

Screaming pierced the air and Zevran woke with a start, hand gripped firmly around his dagger he jumped out of his tent in just his leather pants. He rushed over to Eveli's tent to find Draco trying to claw his way inside. There was no hesitation as he rushed inside and found Eveli tossing and turning in terror with her red hair going wild around her.  
“Eveli, wake up!” Zevran shook her awake as roughly as he dared. He didn't notice her fist coming towards him until it hit him right on his cheekbone. After a few moments he looked into her green eyes and finally saw recognition cross her face.  
“Oh Zev, I'm so sorry!” Eveli gently placed her hands on either side of his face and inspected where she just sucker punched him.  
“I will wear the inevitable black eye as a badge of honor. But are you okay? You were screaming in your sleep"

Eveli wrapped her arms around her knees and looked away from him. How could she tell him her past haunted her and combine that with the darkspawn dreams that come from being a warden, she hated falling asleep as she never knew what horror would await her.  
"It's the dreams. They don't tell you when you join the wardens that you dream about the darkspawn and the archdemon." She finally told him part of her nightmare. He looked at her with such concern, for the first time since her life turned upside down she actually wanted to tell someone what happened.  
“That explains why you woke up swinging” Zevran grinned at her while rubbing his cheek “That was a very good punch and the first time you’ve caught me off guard”  
She couldn’t help but grin at that, she had been trying for the past few months to land a hit on him ever since he agreed to continue the training her mother started.  
“Um Zevran… You don’t have a top on” Eveli turned bright red and hid her face in her hands. Andrastes holy knickers, no one should look that good shirtless.  
“You like what you see, yes? There’s no need to be embarrassed my dear warden. Surely you’ve seen a naked body before.”  
“Never willingly” she responded honestly. When she peeked through her fingers after a while she noticed him looking at her expectantly, waiting for her to continue.The days before Duncan saved her has been weighing heavily on her spirit. The memories always hiding just out of view, ready to drown her when she least expected. Perhaps telling someone would lighten the burden and as strange as it is, considering how they first met, Eveli trusted Zevran the most. She sighed and wrapped her arms around her legs again, making herself as small as possible before continuing.  
“My betrothed was killed on our wedding day trying to save me. The arl’s son loved coming to the alienage to harass us and remind us that we are worthless compared to him. A lot of the humans in Denerim treated us like that but him and his friends were the worst by far. On what was meant to be my wedding day they came looking for ‘fun’ to have at their party that evening. My cousin, ever the hot head, managed to get their attention. I defended her and next thing I knew I was waking up in a locked room with my cousin and a few friends. They had already killed my closest friend and just dumped her body in the center of the room, they didn’t allow her an easy death from the marks on her.” Eveli paused for a moment and let herself feel the grief for her childhood friend. She risked a glance at Zevran and was surprised to see him giving her his full focus. She took a deep breath and continued telling her story. “Nelaros, my betrothed, tried to save me. Him and my cousin broke into the estate. He was killed right in front of me and died in my arms.” She couldn’t stop the emotion from making her voice break. Nelaros was a good man, he was kind and sweet and over time she thought she would have grown to love him.  
“Eveli, I’m so sorry.” Zevran gently placed his hand on hers and squeezed it gently.  
“It’s okay, well it’s not really but it’s in the past now and there’s not a lot that can be done about it now.” she smiled weakly at him and felt her heart jump as his thumb gently stroked back and forth over the inside of her wrist. It was strangely comforting and gave her the strength needed to continue on to what happened next.  
“I sent Soris out with the other girls that were with me while I went to find Shianni. Vaughan and his friends already had her in their bedroom. She was on the ground and they were standing around her. Soris had managed to catch up with me so I ran forward and basically threw Shianni at him and told them to run. They expected me to be right behind them but I knew I wasn’t fast enough to get away. One of them grabbed me and then I was at their mercy. They didn’t care that I had never been with anyone before, they just took whatever they wanted and did all the depraved things that they could think of. From what Duncan said they had me for a week but it felt like an eternity. He managed to convince the Arl to let him inside and he found me. It must of been a sight to see when he carried me out of there. A grey warden carrying a naked elf wrapped in his travelling cloak just casually strolling out of the estate. I must of been in such a state as my father collapsed in tears when he saw me. I don’t think there was a place on my body that wasn’t either bruised or bleeding. The guards came the next day with some made up charges and wanted to take me to be hanged. Duncan wasn’t going to let that happen so he conscripted me to join the Grey Wardens. I had a few hours to pack and say goodbye and then left for Ostagar. I think you know what happened from there.” Eveli sighed as she finished and wiped her tears from her cheeks with her free hand.

Zevran was speechless, he couldn’t believe that she had survived. It also explained why she struggled with people touching her.  
“This is why you struggle with physical affection?” He asked her. She just nodded in response. “But the other month when you asked me to train you, you were crying in my arms”  
“That was a…. Extreme situation. I was at breaking point and needed to feel safe and comforted. If only for a short time”  
“I am honored you allowed me to do that for you but I have to ask, why me and not Alistair? There’s clearly something between you two, no?” From the look of confusion on her face, Eveli clearly hadn’t noticed the way Alistair looked at her “He gave you that rose before we left, did he not?”  
“He did….” Eveli replied carefully “I just had never thought of him like that. He… I think he tried to kiss me that night a few months ago but I panicked and ran. I just thought he was having a moment and would have regretted it as soon as he did. Cause who would want to kiss me?”  
"Oh my dear warden, you are a gorgeous woman. Many people would jump at the chance to kiss you." He squeezed her hand reassuringly "If you so wish it we can add the art of seduction to our training, yes?" He winked at her and then joined in with her laughter.  
"Thank you for checking in on me and listening to me." Eveli said sincerely. She leaned in and gently placed a kiss on his cheek.  
"For you miss Eveli, I would do anything" Zevran smiled warmly at her, kissed the back of the hand he was holding and took his leave back to his own tent.


	4. First Kiss

Eveli carefully sat down beside Alistair and wrapped her arms around him in comfort, not knowing what to say to him.  
“Thank you” he said it so quietly that she wasn’t certain he had spoken at first.  
“Why are you thanking me?”  
“You could have taken the easy way out and let Connor die but you did everything in your power to save him. Eamon won’t have his heart broken when he wakes up now. So thank you.”  
“Those people matter to you so they matter to me. We’re the only two grey wardens here so we need to stick together.” Eveli smiled warmly at him  
“Evie… We never talked about what I said when I gave you the rose.” Eveli’s stomach dropped, she had been dreading this moment. How could she let him down gently?  
“Alistair… I….”  
“It’s okay, I know you and Zevran have been spending a lot of time together. You’ve changed since he started training you and even more when you came back from scouting with him. It’s a good change I think.” Alistair smiled weakly at her  
“I do care about you, just more along the lines of a brother.”  
“Ouch, way to twist the knife.” He dramatically placed his hand over his heart and grinned at her. She couldn’t help but laugh at him and threw her arms around him.  
“Thanks for understanding” She rested her cheek against his shoulder in a comfortable silence. She noticed Zevran approach Leliana and sit down next to her. With how still the day had been, his voice travelled easily to where her and Alistair were sitting. She felt her heart drop at Zevran’s words.   
“Evie…?” Without realising it she had stood up.  
“I’m gonna go wash this muck off me. I’ll see you later.” And with that she sped off towards the river.

Redcliffe had been a mess. Zevran looked over to where Eveli was comforting Alistair. It was the closest he’d seen her get to anyone since falling apart in his arms and he couldn’t help the jealousy he felt seeing that. Also turns out that the guy is a bastard prince, so now he has that going for him. Alistair had more to offer than he could ever give her. What was he thinking? He had never thought of what he could offer someone other than a very pleasurable encounter. He shook his head to clear his thoughts and decided to sit down next to Leliana and talk with her to get his mind off Eveli and Alistair having a very drawn out hug.  
“So I imagine it has been some time for you, Leliana.”  
“Some time for me? I do not know what you mean.” She stopped cleaning her daggers and looked at him confused  
“Some time since you last knocked boots, shall we say? You did just come from the cloistered life, no?” He winked at her and gave her his most charming smile.  
“Of course it has been some time. There are more important things in life than "knocking boots," Zevran.”  
“Oh, I'll not argue that. I simply mean that the body has urges, urges given to us by the Maker. Yours must be... considerable. After all that time.”  
“That is a very personal question.” Leliana responded coldly  
“I mean no offense. I simply offer my services should you ever feel the need for... release.”  
“I think you should be more concerned with our Evie before you make offers like that. She seems quite taken with you.” Leliana replied a little too sweetly and with that picked up her daggers and went gracefully into her tent.  
What does she mean by that…. Zevran looked over in time to see Eveli storming off towards the river.  
“Braska” he muttered to himself and quickly got up to follow her.

He picked up speed when he heard fighting up a head, Eveli had taken her weapons off to clean them so all she had to defend herself with was her hand to hand skills. He rushed round a corner in time to see her gracefully dodge a sword and flip over the bandit to snap his neck. The other bandit, enraged at her for killing his partner, swung his axe at her head. She managed to dodge the first swing but she stood back up too fast and the bandit managed to hit her with the flat side. Zevran felt his heart plummet as he watched Eveli go down hard and stay motionless. He quickly drew his daggers and threw them smoothly one after the other. The first buried itself in the bandits chest and the second had been timed perfectly so when he looked up the dagger was impaled into his eye. Zevran was at Eveli’s side before the bandit’s body had even hit the ground. His heart was pounding in fear at the thought of losing her. With the time they spent together, Eveli had managed to get past his defenses and wrap herself around his heart. He realised as he gently pulled her onto his lap that he hadn’t wanted to go out and find someone to spend the night with for the past few months. Just spending time with this grey warden had been all the companionship he had needed lately. He gently pushed her hair away from her face and breathed a sigh of relief when he felt her breath on his hand. He heard her groan and then he was looking into her brilliant green eyes. Before he realised what he was doing he had leaned forward and gently placed his lips on hers. Zevran felt her stiffen in shock and he thought maybe he had moved to soon without even talking to her about it first. Just before he was about to pull away he felt her relax and softly return the kiss. He eventually pulled away and gave her a genuine smile. He couldn’t help but notice that her cheeks had turned pink and the slightly embarrassed smile she gave him back made his heart soar.  
“Are you okay?” He asked her gently as he rested his forehead against hers. He felt her nod in response. “Please always take some form of weapon with you, even round camp. I won’t always be there to save you.”  
“You just may need to follow me everywhere I go then.” Eveli grinned playfully up at Zevran  
“Oh I think I can do that my dear warden. I’ll have the best view in all of Thedas”  
“Is this you admitting to checking out my backside?”  
“Whatever do you mean?” Zevran smirked at her and helped her slowly get to her feet. Eveli just shook her head and smiled knowingly at him. She was a bit unsteady so Zevran wrapped an arm around her and together they walked back to camp where Wynne was going to force another elfroot concoction down her throat and then wash it down with a caring lecture.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning! There's a brief flashback to past sexual abuse in this chapter

Zevran was watching Eveli talk to the newest member of their merry band of misfits, a golem named Shale. He was close enough to be able to rush to her side if needed but far enough away so he couldn't hear what they were discussing. He had noticed that on a regular basis she would check in with all the people that followed her and make sure they were alright. She had even managed to befriend Sandal in her own way but compassion and kindness just shone from her so she had become a beacon for ones that didn't fit in anywhere. When he first met her he had thought it was all an act, that no one could have the capability to care that much about strangers but now, after travelling with her for six months, he had seen the proof in her actions. Eveli took a risk while finding out about Shale that made his heart sink, lying to a demon was never a smart thing to do but of course she would do all she could do to save a young girl. When it had all worked out in their favor, Zevran had wanted nothing more than to just kiss her senseless but they had never discussed what they were doing together as the most intimacy they had done were stolen kisses after their training sessions. He had offered to join her in her tent multiple times but each time she said no and he respected that. With what she went through it didn't surprise him that she was hesitant to go further. He heard footsteps and smiled up at Morrigan.  
"That is wily of you, Zevran." She said to him as she followed his line of sight to Eveli.  
"What is so wily of me, o magical temptress?"  
"Getting in the good graces of the one who decides whether you live or die. Not to mention the one who can protect you against your former comrades."  
"And I am supposed to believe you are here because of a... sense of patriotism, perhaps?"  
"Ha! Hardly that." She responded dryly  
"We all have our reasons for doing what we do. Mine happen to come with a set of lovely emerald eyes." He smiled charmingly at the witch and turned his attention back to Eveli, wondering how he was going to approach the subject of taking the next step. Perhaps offer her a massage? She had been seeming more tense lately.  
"Very well, I will let you get back to your gawking. Try to not let your eyes pop out of your head. I don't think even Wynne can fix that." And with that Morrigan sauntered off to her tent that was always that little bit separate from the main camp.

Once again Leliana and Eveli had made a delicious meal with whatever supplies they could find. Zevran had heard the tales from Wynne and Morrigan about how bad Alistair's cooking was. And since it was a very rare thing for those two to agree on anything, he was inclined to believe it. He noticed Eveli laughing with Morrigan and he took this chance to drink in her honest laughter. He was distracted and didn't notice Alistair sit beside him until he spoke.  
"So let me ask you something. What are your intentions with her?" Alistair asked while watching Eveli chatting away animatedly with the witch of the wilds.  
"You speak of her as if she is not present. She is just right over there, you know…" Zevran responded, wondering what was in the water for everyone to be questioning him about his…. Relationship with Eveli.  
"Don't dodge the question. I'm serious." Alistair looked away from the other grey warden and sternly looked at the ex crow.  
"Mmm. Do I detect a bit of jealousy there? Feeling territorial, are we?" He replied to Alistair a bit distractedly as he noticed Eveli hide behind her hands. He wished he was close enough to hear what they were talking about but with the bastard prince beside him and the crackling of the fire, it was impossible to.  
"I am just asking what your intentions are. You did try to kill us all, remember?"  
"And now I owe her a blood debt, as she has spared my life. It has brought us... closer together." He couldn't help the smirk crossing his face at the sweet kisses he shared with her earlier that day after she had mastered yet another technique.  
"Is that a smirk? Are you smirking at me?"  
"I assure you, ser, that I am not smirking. No smirking here, no." He quickly lied while trying to put a serious look on his face.  
"Well, just... watch yourself, then. I'll be keeping an eye on you" and with that his second favourite grey warden in Fereldan walked off to his tent. Zevran sighed as he noticed night had fallen quickly and that the rest of the group had already retired for the night. He was about to head to his tent when Draco trotted up and sat in front of him with a note from Eveli tucked into his collar, asking him to come to her tent. His heart jumped and tried not to get his hopes up.

Eveli was looking down at herself in a short black robe. It reached halfway down her thighs and she was a good head shorter than Morrigan so she couldn't help but wonder how much it revealed on her friend. Was she really going to do this? She nervously ran her hands over the smooth fabric, already feeling naked and vulnerable. A bottle of Olasion wine sat empty at her feet, Morrigan had said it was a good way to get liquid courage in regards to these things though Eveli really didn't feel brave. It felt like a horde of dragons were soaring round in her stomach. She turned and faced Zevran as he entered her tent and closed it up tight behind him. The look of appreciation on his face gave her more courage than the wine did as his gaze travelled up from her bare legs, lingered on her nearly fully exposed chest before reaching her eyes, the desire he felt was clear in his eyes. Eveli held his eyes with her own as she took a deep breath and quickly untied the robe and let it fall to the ground. Zevran was in front of her in an instant and embraced her, his lips meeting hers passionately. She angled her head to match his kisses with the same fever, allowing his tongue access to twirl with her own. She felt his hands skimming over her hips to settle on her ass and gently massage. A small moan escaped her lips and she wrapped her arms around his neck which Zevran took as an encouragement so he picked her up with her legs around his waist and laid her down gently on her bed roll. Zevran quickly stripped off his shirt and loosened the ties of his pants before he lowered his weight carefully on top of her. As soon as it felt like Eveli was pinned down it changed from feeling wonderful to panic as her demons appeared and made her remember all the hands pulling at her and the helplessness she felt as the arl's son and his friends abused her in anyway they felt like. She drew her knee up roughly between his legs and pushed him away as hard as she could before curling up in the far corner of her tent, trying to make herself as small as possible.

It took a few moments before she heard Zevran move, he hadn't uttered a sound even when she kneed him in his most sensitive area. Eveli couldn't bare to raise her head and look at him, she didn't want to see the disappointment in his face for being so broken she couldn't even give him something that she knew they both wanted. The sound of leather tightening meant he had tied up the laces of his pants and the rustle of fabric made her heart sink. Thoughts of her not being good enough and him going to someone else's bed swirled round her head and made her heart sink and silent tears flow harder. Instead he surprised her by placing his shirt around her shoulders and sat down next to her, shoulder to shoulder.  
"Evie, are you okay?" The kindness in his voice caressed her heart in a way that nothing ever had.  
"I'm sorry, please don't go to anyone else." She blurted out without thinking.  
"Evie, I'm still here with you yes?" He placed his hand on her and with a feather light touch drew patterns on her back.  
"I was enjoying it and then I don't know what happened but in my mind I was back there. I was feeling everything they did to me. I'm so sorry I'm damaged and broken but I want to be with you. I just need time" She finally looked up at him and her even though her words made his heart soar, her tear stained face broke his heart. She had gone through one of the most horrible experiences anyone could and she trusted him enough to try to work past that and experience what pleasures could be had with another.  
"My dear warden, you have nothing to apologize for. If you so wish to take your time to explore and see what you are comfortable with then I am more than willing to give you free rein. You still have the rope, yes?" He gave her a warm smile and was rewarded with a tentative smile in return. "What do you need of me?"  
"If it's alright with you, could you not um… have sexual relations with anyone else please?" She asked him quietly after thinking for sometime. The way she worded that request surprised him. He expected her to specifically say women or females.  
"What do you mean by anyone?"   
"I had… overheard that you had experience with both genders and many different races." She said quickly as her cheeks burned red in embarrassment.  
"And that doesn't bother you?"  
"Why would it? You are still you and I trust you." She said honestly.  
"I'm going to kiss you now if that's alright?" He asked her as he didn't realise that he had been dreading her finding out he had enjoyed the company of more than just women, she had quickly become the person he trusted with his life and the thought of her rejecting any part of him was a fear he didn't know he had. He saw her nod and before she could change her mind he firmly placed his lips on hers and pulled her close.  
"Would you like me to spend the night?" Panic raced across her face so he quickly added more "You can wear my shirt and if it helps I'll stay on top of the blankets. I just think you need someone to hold you tonight no?" A shy smile appeared on her face and once again Eveli nodded. Zevran quickly scooped her up in his arms and place her in her bed roll and made sure she was covered.  
"I agree to your request my dear Evie." He smiled at her and to his surprise he was rewarded with her pulling back the blanket and motioning for him to join her. He didn't need asking twice, he quickly stripped his pants off so he was just in his small clothes and bundled her against his chest where for the first time since her supposed wedding day, she felt safe.


	6. Chapter 6

Laughter was ringing through the camp that night. They were a days travel away from Orzammar and once camp was set up Oghren had offered Alistair a very strong dwarven ale. It just took the grey warden the one drink to become drunk and was saying the first thing that popped into his head. The poor man was surrounded by the females of the camp teasing him mercilessly. Zevran had felt a slight twinge of jealousy when he saw how close Alistair was to Eveli, but that quickly subsided when he noticed his grey warden glancing over at him regularly with a knowing smile. It had been a few weeks since she had surprised him with the invite to her tent, they had spent most nights together since then. It had started off just holding each other and then the kisses became more passionate. They had yet to join their bodies together but they had found a way to get Eveli more comfortable which involved tying him up and her having control which he had no objections to. The panic attacks were less frequent now but it stabbed him in the heart each time her demons appeared and when he was tied up he couldn't comfort her. After a serious attack, they had started leaving a dagger within reach so he could free himself, the trust she placed in him was inspiring. He had only had someone trust him so completely once before and he swore to himself he wasn't going to do anything to ruin this. He had kept his word and hadn't spent a night with anyone else, honestly he had no urge to. His needs were being fulfilled and being the one teaching her had humbled him in a way he never thought possible. He noticed Shale standing off to the side on it's own, hanging around Eveli must of rubbed off on him as he grabbed his drink and wandered over to stand next to the golem.  
"I have noticed that the painted elf seeks the attention of the Grey Warden." Shale mentioned in her blunt manner.  
"He certainly does." Zevran responded just as directly  
"I watched many such couplings during the time I spent immobile in Honnleath." Shale snorted "Or should I say I was forced to watch. You do know that this usually ends in reproduction. I have seen it many times, indeed."  
"Oh? That is not such a terrible thought. Creating a new life can be a great deal of fun." He laughed at the thought of how uncomfortable Shale would of been witnessing that  
"So you say. I have no idea how a golem is created, but I doubt I shall be creating one anytime soon."  
"Just as well, I imagine. Any lover of yours would no doubt be quickly reduced to a puddle of bruises."  
"So you see me winning the affection of another golem, do you? Most golems are slaves to whomever holds their control rod."  
"Funny, it works exactly the same way for us as well." Zevran replied and was rewarded with the sight of Eveli laughing so hard she spit her drink out over Alistair. She patted Alistair on the head in apology and half ran over to Zevran. He was expecting her to stop but she jumped and flung her arms around his neck before kissing him in front of everyone in the camp. He was frozen in shock for a moment before his brain caught up with what was happening and wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her close.  
"Hi Zev." She said shyly when she finally pulled away.  
"Hello my dear warden." He smiled warmly at her while they both ignored Alistair yelling at them to get a room. His heart jumped at the mischievous sparkle in Evelis eyes as she laced her fingers with his.  
"Alright, we will." Eveli replied as she led him away from the camp to her tent.

Eveli woke early and looked over at the sleeping Zevran next to her. Her heart swelled as she memorised the sight of how peaceful he looked when he was asleep. The blanket had slid down slightly so she took this chance to admire him and look over the intricate tattoos he had over his torso. She knew from her explorations that the tattoos went round his sides and over his back too. She lent over and softly kissed his forehead before getting dressed silently and exiting her tent. Draco bounded over to her, knowing not to bark this early as the sky was only just turning orange with the sunrise. She crouched down and ruffled his fur affectionately before walking towards the swimming hole with her loyal hound beside her.  
She noticed that she was a tad sore while she walked but nothing compared to how she felt after those bastards had abused her. Eveli felt her cheeks burn as she remembered what happened last night. She had joined with Zevran while he was tied up and then she granted his request for untying him so he could touch her. There were times when her demons came close to the surface but her trust in her assassin was well placed as each time he noticed before she even said a word and pulled back slightly until she was comfortable again. He focused completely on her and making her feel every pleasure he could think of before even thinking of his own needs. She made it to the water in no time at all, she quickly stripped down to her small clothes and sprinted to the end of the dock with Draco hot on her heels, barking happily. She jumped off the end and dived smoothly into the water with a small splash, Draco on the other hand could only belly flop into the water and cause quite a large splash. He swam in circles round Eveli while she just floated on her back and stared up at the vibrant sky as the sun started to peek through a gap in the mountains. After a while she started swimming lengths, lost in thought while Draco curled up by her clothes. Their next stop was going to be Denerim and she was a jumble of emotions at the thought of returning to her home. Could she even call it home anymore? She was excited to see her father again and her cousins but what of the Arl and his son…. Would she be able to avoid them or would her status as a grey warden draw attention to her? They couldn't put off going to Denerim any longer, they needed more than ever to follow the trail of the ashes. Without the power of the arl of Redcliffe behind them there was no way they could take on Loghain. She had lost track of how long she had been swimming and only stopped once her fingers looked like prunes and her limbs felt like jelly. She looked over at the dock and just saw Zevran sitting with his feet in the water, her cheeks turned pink as she realised that he was naked. She should have realised by now that he was completely comfortable with his body as he had spent most nights trying to get her to see that she was beautiful. Eveli motioned her head for him to join her and like always, she didn't need to ask twice. He quickly slipped into the water and swam over to her.

The sun was well into the sky by the time they had dragged themselves out of the water and lay on the dock to dry out in the summer sun. Zevran looked over at his warden and couldn't help being speechless, she looked radiant lying there with a satisfied smile on her face and droplets of water covering her tanned skin. He watched her open her eyes and saw her face drop and become serious.  
"Now I know you just enjoyed yourself, so what is wrong my darling Evie?" He asked as he reached over to brush some of her hair he loved so much out of her face. The worry on her face as she turned to look at him made his heart sink, did she want to end what they had? He had grown used to sharing a bed with her at night and her smell of lavender and fresh rain comforted him more than anything ever had.  
"It's our next stop…" she started say as a sad smile appeared on her perfect mouth. Shit. He had forgotten where they were going next. Of course she was apprehensive about returning to Denerim after what had happened to her. Draco’s ears picking up was the only warning they got before Oghren rounded the tree. Eveli turned bright red in embarrassment and let out the cutest squeal Zevran had ever heard before grabbing her clothes and running off with her loyal pet chasing after her, happily thinking this is a new game.  
“So... you and the Boss, huh...?” Oghren said slyly as Zevran stood up and pulled his clothes back on  
“If by "Boss" you are referring to who I think you are, you are correct.”  
“Yeah... Well.... Good luck with that.” Oghren said as he started getting ready to bathe in the water himself  
“Why, thank you ever so much.” Zevran responded, wondering why everyone in their camp wanted to comment on the relationship between him and Eveli. Is what him and Eveli doing classed as a relationship? He wasn’t sure on that as he had spent his life avoiding them so had nothing to compare it against.  
“You might wanna...you know...keep it down though.” Zevran couldn’t help but laugh at that comment as he raised his hand in farewell and headed back to camp.


End file.
